Because being crafty comes in handy...

Well, so much for getting to bed early last night.

The Impertinent Daughter informed me at 8 p.m. last night that the Death Eaters administrators at her school decided that students were no longer allowed to be in possession of... rubber bands. Yes, that's right, folks, the kids are no longer allowed to have those extremely dangerous implements, rubber bands in their pockets, on their binders, in their hair, etc. Because they can use these extremely hazardous items to... launch paper.

*closes eyes, sighs, muttering "Ay-yi-yi" under her breath*

Give me strength, I swear. I'm wondering how many girls who wear ponytails on a regular basis are freaking out this morning because they can't put their hair up?

The reason this impacts us is because of the boxes I chose for my kids' bentos. They are temporary, but for now, they are the right size and depth. Only problem is, they have a tendency to pop open when a kid does something like swing them around, bump them into other kids, or walls, or tables, etc., with the end result of food everywhere. So... I just salvaged the big rubber bands that came with our newspaper and wrapped them around each end of the box... and problem solved.

Until now.

I offered to take some extra wide elastic and sew the ends together for her to replace the rubber bands.

No, that won't work, they still count as "rubber bands."

I said, "Okay, how about I get some fabric and make tubes to cover the elastic, you know, whip the ends together and you can use those? If they fuss, you can say they're headbands and pop one on to prove it!"

"Mom... we can't have headbands, either."

Because... they can be used to... launch paper.

My goodness, I had no idea paper was so... DANGEROUS!!

I brainstormed for a bit, then said, "Okay, fine, I've got some fabric, I'll make a bag."

The Husbandly One said, "That will take too much effort, and you don't have enough time. Besides, your sewing machine is broken, right?"

Well, the bobbin case is... acting up. Driving me nuts, actually. I need to replace it, but you know, at that time of night, it wasn't going to happen. Well, I went to work on my sewing machine, fixed the problem with the thread tension, got the bobbin case to stay put, and dug out the fabric, a roll of parchment, and my sewing box, and got to work.

Yes, I had to make a pattern. And I was up until nearly 2 a.m. working on it, because the bobbin case kept popping out every time the bobbin got too light (too little thread on it), because the handles I was making for the bag didn't turn out right, and I had to figure out how to re-do them, because one of the cats dumped out the entire contents of my sewing box on the floor (I'm still not sure I retrieved it all) and because I had to hand-sew one side of the bag.

But I did it. And I'll have a photo of it later on this afternoon. I would have taken a photo this morning, but the Husbandly One did not inform me he was having to leave early until ten minutes before he was going to leave, and that left me with no time for picture taking at all.

I will say it is not beautiful, or the most attractive bag I've ever made... but it's functional, and when the Impertinent Daughter saw it this morning, rather than being horrified by it, as I was fearing, she was delighted and immediately started drawing on it. She's very proud of it and happy with it, and I am relieved and wish I could very much go back to bed for a few hours BUT...

Miss Priss has a UIL Choir performance this afternoon AND a soccer game immediately after, and it's an away game. And I still have errands to run.

Caffeine... I must ingest mass quantities of caffeine today.

Oh, and I have a battle wound from sewing last night. I sewed my finger. Ouchies!! Next time, I shall be sure to keep my fingers far, far away from the needle!!

*goes in search of caffeine*